July 29, 2017

"EVERYTHING" Putin has been putting off in this conflict, he's now going to do!

WaPo is reporting...

Russia has promised additional retaliatory measures against the new sanctions once they become law, possibly targeting U.S. commercial or trade interests.

“This is a landmark moment,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a journalist for the newspaper Kommersant who regularly travels with Putin and has interviewed him extensively over the past 17 years. “His patience has seriously run out, and everything that he’s been putting off in this conflict, he’s now going to do.”

...
Among the areas that could be affected are a United Nations vote on new North Korea sanctions and cooperation in Syria.

...
In Syria, the administration is depending on Russia to restrain its allies — the government of President Bashar al-Assad and Iran — from interfering in the campaign against the Islamic State.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/07/28/trump-intends-to-sign-russia-sanctions-bill-white-house-says-it-would-let-congress-block-him-from-easing-sanctions-on-moscow/?utm_term=.7b65f48e9554

This is a stern warning from Putin. He could bring Trump down with blackmail info he has on him but then he'd have to deal with the less pliable Pence. Hmmm.

So, will we or will we not see the peepee tape?

Or Bannon being "a gymnast" as Rachel euphemistically called it. (Sorry, I had to interject that image. )

July 28, 2017

Thanks for the clarification.

As MarketWatch journalist said, "This president is a lazy old man who golfs, watches TV and tweets. That’s about all." And Newsweek: "Trump hast he work ethic of a bored, lazy child." And most everyone on DU knows he's dumb as dirt and doesn't read ANYthing, so I don't think he knew much, including this, because he doesn't care enough to even want to know. He's lived his life in a bubble.

And what intelligent person would do business with a ruthless dictator? Trump might have to watch his back after leaving the WH because he cannot deliver for his boss.

I also thought: 1) you might be implying that Trump had the unused power to do something about this report OR 2) that you were making a funny, cliched joke.

My apologies for being dumb. Not the first time. And, btw, I was NOT trying to be offensive.

Bye now.

July 25, 2017

American Pastor: Christian Children Should Be Taught To Be Extremists Like Hitler Youth, ISIS

http://addictinginfo.com/2015/01/31/american-pastor-christian-children-should-be-taught-to-be-extremists-like-hitler-youth-isis/

July 24, 2017

My son was still in grad school and

Without adequate coverage at 26. He could NOT afford his own coverage and we, his parents, would have ended up paying for an individual policy for him without ACA.

BTW, HE PAID his way thru grad school with a teaching assistantship and side tutoring. He had to budget to pay bills and had but tad little coverage with the university policy. During this time he was hospitalized once - Ka-Ching $$$! So, I'm most grateful ACA made BC/BS keep him on our policy.

I'm sure there are other young folks who need help too.

July 21, 2017

How convenient that this info comes out NOW!!

Just when Trump needs another excuse to fire sessions.

Think about it. Even Dana Bash (R- CNN) had the same observation.

July 21, 2017

This is ridiculous! Can we then make it illegal to

boycott Indonesia too? Say they were killing whales as Japan does? Since that country has the highest population of Muslims (209.1 million), could that not be construed as religious discrimination?

Some countries have some horrible policies. Without boycotts how can we oppose those policies as private citizens and businesses?

Citizens should be able to boycott policies not based on racism or religious discrimination. And this should be applicable to Israeli *policies*. Left leaning J Street has opinions on this as they oppose many of Israel's rightwing policies.

July 17, 2017

Comparing presidential administrations by arrests and convictions: A warning for Trump appointees

Googling and found this:
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/11/1619079/-Comparing-Presidential-Administrations-by-Arrests-and-Convictions-A-Warning-for-Trump-Appointees

And
Corruption By The Numbers: Republicans Versus Democrats
http://www.peacock-panache.com/2017/07/corruption-republicans-democrats-31686.html

And
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convicted_of_crimes

There is no doubt that rethugs are more corrupt, not that there were before.


K & R for the OP!

July 9, 2017

Listen to clips of him from 15 yrs ago

and you'll be convinced that he has some serious and "very" progressive form of dementia. His mental acuity and vocabulary used to be significantly better, not to say that he was ever intelligent enough to be President.

Wish I could remember the news program that played several clips but my dementia is acting up a bit.

July 7, 2017

Excellent compilation of verses!

If they could think for themselves, independently of peers, it would work. But most of them live and breathe cult-thinking.

Many years ago I tried to convert my racist, fundamentalist mother into being a more compassionate, less judgemental person using buybull verses. She wouldn't listen to her atheist daughter. She has to hear this from the pulpit and from her churchie peers, i.e. her cult. And there's not a snowball's chance of that happening.

Back during Shrub's reign, I embarked on a letter writing campaign to church preachers in the South hoping I could get thru to them, using buybull verses and all the tact I could muster. Heard back from only one church: "Don't bother us any more." They are just closed assholes.

I am not saying folks shouldn't try - we must! There are likely to be folks who can be reached.
So... for a great post, Calimary!

July 7, 2017

Prof. George Lakoff does a great job explaining

"Conservative moral values arise from what I call the Strict Father Family.

In this family model, father knows best. He decides right and wrong. He has the ultimate authority to make sure his children and his spouse do what he says, because what he says is right. Many conservative spouses accept this worldview, uphold the father’s authority, and are strict in those realms of family life that they control.
....

What if they don’t prosper? That means they are not disciplined, and therefore cannot be moral, and so deserve their poverty. In this conservative view, the poor are seen as lazy and undeserving while the rich deserve their wealth. Responsibility is thus taken to be personal responsibility, not social responsibility. What you become is only up to you, not society. You are responsible for yourself, not for others.

The Conservative Moral Hierarchy

The strict father logic extends further. The basic idea is that authority is justified by morality (the strict father version), and that, in a world ordered by nature, there should be (and traditionally has been) a moral hierarchy in which those who have traditionally dominated should dominate.

Why do conservatives love Trump (who harms them) and hate healthcare (which helps them)? It makes more sense when you consider the conservative moral hierarcy.

The Conservative Moral Hierarchy:
• God above Man
• Man above Nature
• The Disciplined (Strong) above the Undisciplined (Weak)
• The Rich above the Poor
• Employers above Employees
• Adults above Children
• Western culture above other cultures
• America above other countries
• Men above Women
• Whites above Nonwhites
• Christians above non-Christians
• Straights above Gays

Sound familiar?

On the whole, conservative policies flow from the Strict Father worldview and this hierarchy. Trump is an extreme case (he wants to be the ultimate strict father), though very much in line with conservative policies of the Republican party.


Much more...

https://georgelakoff.com/2017/07/01/two-questions-about-trump-and-republicans-that-stump-progressives/

Doesn't this sound EXACTLY like what is preached in conservative churches?